President: Nguyen Minh Triet Secretary-general of the Communist Party : Nguyen Phu Trong
Interim President: John Dramani Mahama
Population
91,519,289
24,652,402
Life Expectancy
72.410 years
61.450 years
Capital City
Hanoi
Accra
Largest city
Thanh pho Ho Chi Minh (population: 3,467,330)
Accra (population: 1,963,260)
Human Development Index
0.718
0.533
GDP per capita
$3,400 US
$3,100 US
Literacy Rate
90.3%
57.9%
Corruption Perception Index
2.7
3.9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
25.8%
10.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
2.300%
11.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
Communist state
constitutional democracy
Independence date
2 September 1945 (from France)
6 March 1957 (from UK)
Religions
Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census)
Christian 68.8% (Pentecostal/Charismatic 24.1%, Protestant 18.6%, Catholic 15.1%, other 11%), Muslim 15.9%, traditional 8.5%, other 0.7%, none 6.1% (2000 census)
Languages
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census)
dong (VND) per US dollar - 16,548.3 (2008 est.), 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004)
cedis (GHC) per US dollar - 1.1 (2008 est.), 0.95 (2007), 9,174.8 (2006), 9,072.5 (2005), 9,004.6 (2004) note: in 2007 Ghana revalued its currency with 10,000 old cedis equal to 1 new cedis
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%
1.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
0
Location
Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia
Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo
Area
331,210 km sq
238,533 km sq
Coastline
3,444 km
539 km
Climate
tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March)
tropical; warm and comparatively dry along southeast coast; hot and humid in southwest; hot and dry in north
